Florists John and Wendy Kelly are paying tribute to the Queen Mother the way they know best.

With a little extra effort, they have turned a window of their Lewes shop into a memorial fit for a queen.

Determined to create a floral display which would have the Queen Mother's blessing, they made some discreet inquiries into her likes and dislikes.

They hit a stumbling block when they discovered she had a particularly soft spot for lilac sweet peas as the seasonal blooms are not available in England yet this year.

But they refused to let that stop them, ordering the flowers from The Netherlands instead.

With the addition of a crown and sceptre and photographs of the royal great-grandmother, the shop window of Wendy Kelly Flowers in High Street has been stopping passers-by in their tracks.

Mr Kelly, who has run the shop for 15 years, said: "The flowers are the exact shade of lilac she preferred.

"We thought it would be a nice gesture to do this and all the staff here felt the same.

"We dressed the window over the weekend. We put quite a lot of thought into it so it took us quite a while to get it the way we wanted.

"A passer-by saw what we had done and came in and offered us a crown and sceptre which was very kind of them. It is the perfect final touch and we are all happy at the way the finished display looks.

"I think people appreciate someone is doing something to mark the occasion.

"It's just one of those things but nobody else seems to have done anything special which is a real shame.

"We've gone to a little bit of trouble to find out what she liked and what her favourite things were but I think it's the least we could do.

"The Queen Mother lived quite a life. She did so much for her country and, at the end of the day, it's not everyone who lives to such a great age."

Yesterday we revealed how 42 people signed two books of condolence for the Queen Mother in the 24 hours after they opened at Brighton and Hove town halls.

It is in marked contrast to the reaction following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

The Lord Lieutenants of East and West Sussex will attend a service of thanksgiving for the life of the Queen Mother.

It will be held at Chichester Cathedral on Sunday, April 21, at 11am and will be conducted by Canon John Ford.

No tickets will be issued for the service, which will be open to all.